Enhanced PMOS via transverse stress

ABSTRACT

In the present invention, a PMOS device comprises a channel region formed in {100} silicon with first and second source/drain region disposed on either side of the channel region. The channel region is oriented such that a current flow between the source/drain regions has a &lt;100&gt; direction through the channel region. Dielectric regions create a compressive stress on the channel region perpendicular to the current flow.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention relates in general to integrated circuits and, more particularly, to transistor structures.

2. Description of the Related Art

The great majority of electronic circuits used today are fabricated using a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) process. There are two types of CMOS devices, N-type devices (NMOS) and P-type (PMOS) devices. An N-type device is turned on or off by the movement of electrons through an n-type doped channel. A P-type device is turned on or off by the movement of holes (electron vacancies) through a p-type doped channel.

The speed of a CMOS circuit depends largely upon the speed of the CMOS transistors. There is always pressure to increase the speed of the transistors to increase the processing capacity of a circuit. While much of the increases in speed over the last decade have been the result of smaller channel sizes, further increases in speed by reducing feature size will be more and more difficult to obtain.

For many years, it has been known that applying stress to a semiconductor material can change the mobility of electrons or holes in the doped regions. The effect of stress is dependent upon the lattice structure of the semiconductor material, the orientation of the channels on the semiconductor material, the type of stress (i.e., tensile or compressive), and the direction of the stress.

In U.S. Ser. No. 09/727,296 (Pub. No. U.S. 2002/0063292), which is incorporated by reference herein, a method of forming CMOS devices so that current flows along a <100> direction in {100} silicon while applying a tensile longitudinal stress to the CMOS device. According to this reference, this technique increases electron mobility in the NMOS devices, while have a negligible effect on the PMOS devices.

In general, even in the absence of any stress, NMOS devices are significantly faster than PMOS devices in a given processing technology. Therefore, a need has arisen for a process which increases the speed of PMOS devices.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention, a PMOS device comprises a channel region formed in {100} silicon with first and second source/drain region disposed on either side of the channel region. The channel region is oriented such that a current flow between the source/drain regions has a <100> direction through the channel region. Dielectric regions create a compressive stress on the channel region perpendicular to the current flow.

The present invention provides a significant advantage over the prior art. By aligning the PMOS transistors with the current path in the <100> direction, hole mobility is greatly increased. Electron mobility in NMOS transistors similarly oriented does not show significant degradation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a {100} silicon wafer with a CMOS device oriented in the <100> direction with longitudinal tensile stress applied to the channel region as described in Pub. No. U.S. 2002/0063292;

FIG. 2 a illustrates a {100} silicon wafer with a greatly enlarged CMOS device oriented in the <100> direction with transverse compressive stress applied to the channel region;

FIG. 2 b illustrates a top view of CMOS device of the type shown in FIG. 2 a;

FIG. 3 a through 3 b illustrate a process flow for producing the transistors of FIGS. 2 a-b.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is best understood in relation to FIGS. 1-3 a-b of the drawings, like numerals being used for like elements of the various drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a {100} silicon wafer with a CMOS device oriented in the <100> direction with longitudinal tensile stress applied to the channel region as described in Pub. No. U.S. 2002/0063292. In this embodiment, transistors 10 are formed with source/drain regions 12 adjacent to channel 14. The current flow between source/drain regions 12 will be in the <100> direction. A longitudinal tensile stress, shown by arrows 16, is applied to the channel 14.

It is claimed that when a longitudinal tensile stress is applied to an n-type region of a {100} semiconductor wafer, the piezoresistive coefficient is at a minimum (approximately −100 units) in the <100> direction. When the same longitudinal tensile stress is applied to a p-type region of the semiconductor wafer, the piezoresistive coefficient is only slightly above the neutral condition. Accordingly, it is claimed that if transistors are aligned such that current flows in the <100> direction and longitudinal tensile stress is applied to the channels in the <100> direction, then the resulting NMOS transistors will have an increase in speed without affecting the performance of the PMOS transistors.

Tests have shown that the improvement will not be as great as expected in the NMOS transistors as would be indicated by the piezocoefficients; further, to the extent that an improvements exists, the speed difference between the NMOS and PMOS transistors will be increased even more.

FIG. 2 a illustrates a {100} silicon wafer with (greatly enlarged) CMOS devices 20 oriented in the <100> direction with transverse compressive stress applied to the channel region. In this embodiment, transistors 20 are formed with source/drain regions 22 adjacent to channel 24. The current flow between source/drain regions 22 will be in the <100> direction. A transverse compressive stress, shown by arrows 26, is applied to the channel 14. The transverse compressive stress compresses the channel in a direction perpendicular to the current flow through the channel.

FIG. 2 b illustrates a top view of a transistor 20. Gate 28 is formed over channel 24 and source/drain regions lie adjacent to gate 28. Trenches 30 are formed on either side of the channel 24. The transverse compressive stress can be created by filling the trenches 30 with a dielectric 34, such as a grown oxide.

Table 1 demonstrates the improvements in PMOS transistors oriented in the <100> direction with transverse compressive stress applied to the channels compared to transistors with longitudinal tensile stress. TABLE 1 ΔIdsat/Idsat and ΔGm/Gm Changes <100> Channel <110> Channel Idsat Gm Piezo nwell Idsat Gm Piezo nwell % % % % % % % % Lg = 10 μm — — Lg = 10 μm — — NMOS Longitudinal 4.8 5.6 10.0 10.2 3.4 3.5 3.1 3.2 NMOS Transverse 1.2 1.2 −5.3 −5.4 1.2 1.4 1.8 1.8 PMOS Longitudinal 0 0 −0.7 — −7.5 −7.5 −7.2 — PMOS Transverse −2.6 −2.7 0.1 — 6.8 6.9 6.6 — Lg = 40 nm Lg = 40 nm NMOS Longitudinal 1.7 1.7 1.6 2.1 NMOS Transverse 0.4 0.8 0.5 0.6 PMOS Longitudinal 0 0 −2.7 −4.9 PMOS Transverse −1.1 −2 2.3 3.4

Table 1 shows the changes, ΔIdsat/Idsat and ΔGm/Gm, by 100 MPa tensile stress for transistors with gate length of 40 nm and 10 μm. It should be noted that the sign of the measurements changes for compressive stress. The standard deviation of the measured ΔIdsat/Idsat is about 0.2%, and that of Gm is about 0.4%. The predicted changes by piezoresistance coefficients can be compared with the measured changes in 10 μm MOSFETs. There are obvious differences between the piezoresistance coefficients and the measured changes in Gm and drive currents in both n- and p-MOSFETs. To further validate the measurements, the built-in n-well resistors were measured simultaneously on the chips. The changes in conductance agree very well with piezoresistance coefficients, as listed in Table 1. The consistency between nwell resistors and piezoresistance coefficients and their disagreements with MOSFETs suggest that it is not possible to use the piezoresistance coefficients to predict the changes in drive currents of <100> MOSFETs even if the Lg dependence is taken into account. Table 1 also lists the changes, ΔIdsat/Idsat and ΔGm/Gm, of <110> channel transistors by 100 MPa tensile stress on the right side of the table for comparison. In this case, piezoresistance coefficients agree with the measured Gm and drive current changes in long-channel MOSFETs.

As can be seen from Table 1, for a PMOS transistor with a transverse 100 MPa compressive stress, a 10 μm gate length, an improvement of about 2.6% in current can be achieved, while the current of an NMOS transistor is decreased by only about 1.2%. For a 40 nm gate length, the NMOS transistor current increases by about 1.1%, while the NMOS current decreases by only 0.4%.

FIGS. 3 a-b illustrate a cross-sectional side view of a transistor 20 showing a simplified process for creating the compressive force on the channel 24. In FIG. 2 a, the trenches 30 are formed on either side of the channel 24 using a trench etch process. At the time of etching the trenches, the substrate including the channel 24 will expand slightly, creating a slightly tensile force on the channel 24, as shown by arrows 32.

In FIG. 3 b, the trenches are filled with dielectric 34. Typically, this is accomplished through an oxide growth in the trenches. The fill process is performed so as to create a transverse stress, as shown by arrows 36. The amount of compressive stress can be varied by controlling the film composition in the fill process. The trench fill is followed by formation of the gate oxide 38, gate deposition and etch, and gate sidewall (not shown) deposition and etch. The gate sidewalls can also be used to create compressive stress.

The present invention provides a significant advantage over the prior art. A faster PMOS transistor can be achieved with little affect on NMOS transistors in the same circuit. The speed gap between NMOS and PMOS transistors is thus narrowed.

Although the Detailed Description of the invention has been directed to certain exemplary embodiments, various modifications of these embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments, will be suggested to those skilled in the art. The invention encompasses any modifications or alternative embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims. 

1. A PMOS device, comprising: a channel region formed in {100} silicon; first and second source/drain region disposed on either side of the channel region, such that a current flow between the source/drain regions has a <100> direction through the channel region; and dielectric regions creating a compressive stress on the channel region perpendicular to the current flow.
 2. The PMOS device of claim 1 and further comprising a gate disposed above the channel region.
 3. The PMOS device of claim 1 wherein the dielectric regions comprise oxide regions.
 4. An integrated circuit comprising: a {100} silicon substrate; a plurality of PMOS devices each comprising: a channel region formed in {100} silicon; first and second source/drain region disposed on either side of the channel region, such that a current flow between the source/drain regions has a <100> direction through the channel region; and dielectric regions forming a compressive stress on the channel region perpendicular to the current flow; and a plurality of NMOS devices each comprising: a channel region formed in {100} silicon; first and second source/drain regions disposed on either side of the channel region, such that a current flow between the source/drain regions has a <100> direction through the channel region; and dielectric regions creating a compressive stress on the channel region perpendicular to the current flow.
 5. The integrated circuit of claim 4 and further comprising gates disposed above each of the channel region.
 6. The PMOS device of claim 4 wherein the dielectric regions comprise oxide regions.
 7. A method of forming a device, comprising the steps of forming a channel region formed in a {100} silicon substrate; forming first and second source/drain regions on either side of the channel region, such that a current flow between the first and second source/drain regions has a <100> direction through the channel region; and forming dielectric regions that create a compressive stress on the channel region perpendicular to the direction of the current flow.
 8. The method of claim 7 and further comprising the step of forming a gate above the channel region.
 9. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of forming dielectric regions comprises the steps of: etching trenches in the substrate adjacent the channel region; and filling the trenches to create a compressive stress.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the filling step comprises the step of growing oxide in the trenches. 